The Las Vegas Raiders have a lot of question marks as the 2023 NFL season comes to a close. Most importantly, who will the coach, general manager, and quarterback be in 2024 and beyond? As the offseason begins for the Raiders they will start to make decisions on interim head coach Antonio Pierce, interim GM Champ Kelly, and rookie quarterback Aidan O’Connell. However, one thing that seems certain is that veteran QB Jimmy Garoppolo won’t be back, and there are 13 million reasons on his contract that this is the case.

Jimmy Garoppolo signed a three-year, $72,750,000 contract with the Raiders this offseason with $45,000,000 guaranteed. Next season, Jimmy G has a salary cap hit of $28,517,000 and a dead cap figure of $28,318,000. That means cutting him at the beginning of the offseason will only save $199,000, per OverTheCap.

However, if the Raiders cut Garoppolo after June 1, 2024, they will be able to spread that dead cap hit out over the next two seasons, saving $13,000,000. Saving that type of money will give the new GM — whoever they are — a lot more flexibility moving forward.

What do the Raiders do at QB in 2024?

Photo: Aidan O’Connell in action, Jimmy Garoppolo, Brian Hoyer in background, all in Raiders jerseys

The Raiders need to figure out their QB situation in 2024, and it won’t involve Jimmy Garoppolo, as noted above.

Outside of Jimmy G, from a financial standpoint, Aidan O’Connell is on a fantastic fourth-round rookie deal, so his cap hit next season is only $1,042,345. On the downside, 38-year-old backup Brian Hoyer got a nearly fully guaranteed two-year $4,500,000 contract from fired GM Dave Ziegler and coach Josh McDaniels last offseason, meaning he’s on the books for around $2.2 million in 2024 whether he’s there or not.

Still, having less than $20 million wrapped up in QB isn’t a bad spot to be in for the Raiders moving forward. This allows them to draft another signal-caller if they want, sign a high-end backup to a mid-money, short-term deal, or even go after a bigger veteran fish, like Kirk Cousins, who will command around $40 million.

Options A and B are the better and more likely options, but you just never know with the silver and black.